Editors - I'm gravely concerned about the recent violence in the Mission District. I'm also quite perplexed that there has not been a more robust response from Mayor Gavin Newsom and Police Chief Heather Fong. I hear the same lines repeated again and again about increased foot patrols, more police presence, blah, blah, blah. Is the violence not yet at a level that demands a more comprehensive and acute response from our leaders? Wake up, city leaders. We're there!

Editor - As a Democrat, and as a woman, I find Tammy Bruce's ignorance of the status of women in the Democratic Party extremely offensive ("A feminist's argument for McCain's VP," Sept. 7).

How can she claim that the Democrats don't embrace women? She herself mentioned that Democrat Geraldine Ferraro was a trailblazer, after all. Has she forgotten already that Sen. Hillary Clinton received 18 million votes from Democrats and lost to Sen. Barack Obama fair and square, as determined by the public's votes? Has she forgotten that the Democratic speaker of the House is a woman?

Perhaps Bruce should start paying attention to the proposed policies of the next president and vice president, instead of dwelling on gender, the very thing she says she abhors. She might notice that Sarah Palin has no foreign policy experience, and has poor records regarding energy and the economy. And incidentally, she does not "embrace a respect for women," she betrays it.

Nothing to applaud

Editor - Reading Caille Millner's "The clock spins backward in St. Paul" (Sept. 8) on the glorification of teenage pregnancy at the Republican National Convention found deep resonance with me. Thank God, someone like Millner is pointing out the inappropriateness of parading teenage pregnancy and a shotgun wedding (love by mandate) as something to be applauded or held up as an acceptable standard for our youth.

If Gov. Sarah Palin spent more time with her children, if she promoted sex education for the youth in her state, she would be more believable as a promoter of family values and social progress. With Palin and Sen. John McCain, the clock is turning backward, and this is but one instance of that backward trend.

Pay when needed

Editor - This is to correct the suggestion in the Aug. 13 article "The mayor's final budget cuts hit health programs, union pay" that the museum guard hours were unfairly cut back to 35 hours per week. This budget proposal is being implemented because we do not believe that, as a practice, the city should pay workers for hours beyond those needed.

We have more staffing than we need at the museums, based on the available shifts and open hours. We do not want to pay museum guards beyond the time they are needed, which is 35 hours per week. In fact, at one institution, 40 percent of the museum guards worked 35 hours per week last year and the rest were on the clock for 40 hours per week. We are implementing this policy to bring all city museum guards in line with 35 hours.

Left-wing waste

Editor - As usual, the left, this time in the mantle of the Berkeley tree-sitters, has cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in tax money for their illegal occupation of property belonging to the University of California.

The millions of dollars in legal fees should have been used to help improve the education of the students of UC. Instead, the university was forced to divert its money to this travesty brought on by people who do not give a hoot for the financial welfare of the state of California, or anyone else.

Now they are trying to blackmail the state to give $6 million for a boondoggle - supposedly to help Native Americans. This taxpayer has drawn a line in the sand. The protest, once just amusing, is a left-wing-generated tragedy.

JOHN CHASE Alameda

Those who came after

Editor - With Sen. John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin to be a potential president, after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton blazed such a wide trail on women's issues over decades, I am reminded of George H.W. Bush's cynical, insulting pick of Justice Clarence Thomas to succeed the eminent and distinguished Thurgood Marshall: both picks, made by Republicans, are reactionary individuals with only a superficial resemblance to their predecessors, diametrically opposed to nearly everything their predecessors stood for.

Our neighbor as leader?

Editor - Sen. John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin - who is apparently running on a "hockey-mom" platform - presents us with an appallingly unqualified candidate, an act which leaves those of us not euphoric over the sight of a female candidate sputtering with incomprehension. This is not just a gamble; it is another totally reckless move by a Republican to gain power, regardless of the consequences for the country. In so doing, McCain forfeits all claim to being a patriot. Admittedly, Palin may have a lot of problems common to the rest of us, but even if she is "like all of us," maybe we should wonder if she has a clue as to how to go about solving any of the problems facing us. And, with such an identity, we could well ask ourselves the question: Do we really want our next-door neighbor running the country?

ART K. DUNLOP Oakland

It's payback

Editor - The prison guards' union is trying to pin the blame for the budget impasse on the governor because he put the interests of the people of California ahead of their union interests.

I guess we should fault Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for not being right wing enough for the Republicans and not left wing enough for the Democrats. He doesn't cater to the extreme of either party, and put forth a budget plan of his own that both sides didn't like. I believe most Californians reject the extremes of either party, and for that reason the recall will fail miserably.

The electorate will see the recall attempt is - a poorly disguised effort at payback - for not rolling over to the unions.

JOHN J. DILLON

San Bruno

Petulant naysayers

Editor - I don't have a problem with the prison guards' union circulating petitions to recall Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Live by the recall, die by the recall.

But while they're at it, it might be helpful for future budget negotiations if they also circulated petitions to lower the percentage of the Senate and Assembly votes needed to pass the budget.

Being a small-d democrat, I'd like to see it passed by a majority, but if necessary, I could go to 60 percent. Requiring it to be passed by a two-thirds vote is just holding the public interest hostage to a few petulant naysayers.